


Fractured

by Taurusology



Category: PAW Patrol
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, References to Depression, Short, pawpatrol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-10-28 23:13:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taurusology/pseuds/Taurusology
Summary: It's been two years since an almost fatal encounter ultimately led Zuma to become a member of the Paw Patrol. Two years since he had to relive his past, face death, and two years since he found love in Rocky - his beacon of light during his darkest times. However, when an innocent conversation turns into a cold shoulder, Rocky turns to Ryder for help. Will bringing a piece of his past back to him, rekindle a lost passion or will it only cause more problems? A short story based on my previous work, The Water Pup. [Rocky x Zuma]**I don't own Paw Patrol. The characters and cannon themes belong to Spin Master. I own only my writing*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I'm back :) I normally do AN's at the end so I'll try and keep this short but I should put it out there that this short story is based on an earlier scene from my previous work, The Water Pup. I just wanted to say that first because some parts, in reference to Zuma's past, might be a little confusing to those who haven't read that one. Having said that....

The setting sun came off like fire as the horizon threatened to take the last of its remaining orange-kissed light. The percussion of the waves at high tide crashing at his paws, was the perfect echo for his calm heartbeat. As he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath of the warm, ocean breeze that took any tension he had right out of his body. A grateful smile formed at the corner of his lips as his paws sank deeper into the sand until they were covered, lost in his reminiscent thoughts about just how much his life had changed in the past two years. Zuma couldn't help but feel happy every time he reminded himself of that. Except, this wasn't just one of those ordinary days. Today held significance and while he tried his best to remain happy, his surfacing thoughts had other plans.

"Hey, Zuma!" Shouted a familiar voice from a distance. One that he was thankful for that interrupted his spiraling daydream. "Earth to Zuma!"

"One more minute," he mumbled back, never taking his squinted eyes off the glistening sea.

Rocky laughed softly to himself as he playfully shook his head. His favorite thing about Zuma was his ability to lose himself in the things that others take for granted. Something that hasn't changed since the first day he met him. Rocky's learned a lot from him, including how to just take a step back for a minute and just appreciate what was around him. He walked steadily down to the shoreline, stopping just behind Zuma to avoid the threat of getting his own paws wet. That's the one thing about Rocky that's never changed. He'd always hate water at this rate. "Everyone's heading home."

Zuma tilted his head slightly over his shoulder, "You guys can go without me."

Something about the tone of his response made Rocky feel uneasy. "Are you okay?" He asked softly as he sat in the sand next to Zuma, tensing with each drop of water that touched him. "You seem a little off today, you haven't said much."

"I'm okay."

"Seriously? I know you better than anyone else, Zuma, I know when something's bothering you."

Zuma let out a small laugh. He rested his head on Rocky's shoulder, blushing as Rocky gently kissed his forehead. "Sometimes I think you planted something in my brain that lets you read my thoughts."

"I've thought about it, but all I'd hear are your thoughts about endless liver treats and probably surfing and all things water. Just the thought of that alone makes me shiver. So, no thanks. I'll stick to my own mind," said Rocky with dry sarcasm. Zuma nudged him with his shoulder playfully. "Huh..."

"What?" Asked Zuma curiously.

"Come to think of it, I don't actually think I've seen you surf since you've been here." Rocky could feel Zuma tensing as he lifted his head off of his shoulder, pulling his paws out of the sand. Zuma looked defeated all of a sudden. "What's wrong? Did I say something?" Asked Rocky with worry in his eyes.

"I'm just not into it anymore," replied Zuma, brushing it off.

Rocky was now certain something was bothering him. Zuma loved to surf. He had pictures of surfers covering the walls of his pup house and loved telling stories of his own surfing adventures. "What are you talking about? I thought surfing was your favorite thing to do."

"Guess you don't know me as good as you think then."

Rocky was shocked and suddenly at a loss for words. He wanted to say something as he watched Zuma walk away but his heart and mind were fighting each other for the right words to say. He stayed behind, staring at the ocean as the velvet night began to fill the sun's void. His mind tried comprehending what just happened. What did I say? He loved to surf...I'm not crazy, it's a fact. Do I go after him? I haven't seen him like this since..." Suddenly, his eyes got wide and his frown formed a straight line as he remembered something. "I gotta find Ryder," He said to himself as he sprinted back towards the lookout, the sand underneath him creating clouds only visible in the night by the street lights in the distance.

Quickly approaching the lookout, he saw that Zuma's pup house was closed shut which meant he wasn't inside with the others. He sprinted through the doors, panting heavily. Suddenly, he tried stopping his out of control pace, skidding with his paws only it was useless. He crashed into the rest of the pups who were eating, like a cannonball sending them flying until they landed in a jumbled pile on the kitchen floor.

"Oww..." grumbled Chase, rolling over and rubbing the golf ball sized knot that was forming on his forehead.

"Wow, Rocky," said Skye, pushing Rubble who was now crushing her, away. "What are you doing?"

Marshall, seemingly unaffected as he was at the top of the pile, wagged his tail with excitement as his eyes grew wider, "That was the most awesome wipeout ever!"

"You would know, you're the professional of wipeouts," said Skye nudging Marshall, as they all laughed.

"Are you okay, Rocky," asked Chase as scooped up what was left of his dinner off the floor back into his bowl.

Rocky rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Have you seen Ryder? I need to ask him something."

"He's upstairs in the control room," answered Rubble, still laughing with a mouth full.

"Sweet, thanks!"

"Hey Rocky," shouted Skye as he darted towards the elevator, "tell Zuma his dinner is ready!" It was useless.

__________________________________

Ryder sat in a green bean bag on the floor with his feet propped up on a rolling office chair. He was playing Corn Niblet Crush on his pup pad, one hand on the pad while the other fed his mouth with popcorn. An angry buzzing game from the game as Ryder looked up to see who was coming. "Aw man! I got so far too..." he said, throwing it to the side. "Hey Rocky."

"What are playing?" he laughed slightly at Ryder's intensity.

"I was playing that game that Chickaletta always plays on Mayor Goodway's phone. It's a little ridiculous but it clearly got my attention." Ryder replied almost embarrassed at his game choice. "Are you okay?"

"I needed to talk to you if you have time."

"Of course I do. What's up?"

"Well, Zuma's been acting weird."

"Rocky, I'm not the best choice to give you relationship advice, ya know?"

Rocky blushed, "No, it's not like that. I brought up surfing and I thought about it and I came to realize that I never actually seen him surf."

"You know, now that you mention it, me either..." replied Ryder, looking to the side as he rubbed his chin, thinking hard about a time he might've forgotten about.

"I just don't know why that would've made him so upset. But then I realized, this was the day you brought him here two years ago."

"You're right. We talked about it earlier before you pups left for the beach but he wasn't acting unusual or anything. Where is he now?" asked Ryder.

"He's locked himself inside his pup house."

"Well that's not good," said Ryder with worry growing in his eyes. "You don't think it has to do with his past do you?"

"I don't know. I know when he gets like this if I keep pressuring him to talk to me it only makes it worse so I was trying to leave him alone for a little while. I thought maybe just the whole him being here now, reflecting on his past, might've triggered something."

"Rocky!" Shouted Ryder as he jumped to his feet, shocking an unsuspecting Rocky. "That night, before we came here, we went to where he was living up in the woods on a cliff. He had a surfboard in there!"

"You're a genius, Ryder!"

"I don't know if it would still be there though...but what if it was? I'm sure he'd love to have that back. I remember he kept looking at it before we left." Ryder and Rocky sat quietly for a minute as their brains went into overdrive. "Wanna go on an adventure?"

"It's late and dark, will we even be able to still find it?" Questioned Rocky.

"I saved the coordinates back then, they'll take us right to it. I actually almost deleted them."

"Let's do this," replied Rocky assertively as he and Ryder high fived.

Ryder and Rocky looked at each other and smiled. Ryder took the pole as Rocky ran towards the slide. At the bottom, Ryder was ready and waiting and when Rocky landed on the back, they sped off into the distance. The full moon above broke up the midnight blackness but wasn't bright enough to dull the light from the millions of silver-sequined stars that shone brightly. Rocky gazed above him in awe, smiling every time his eye would catch a sapphire - a beautiful blue gem hiding amongst the rest, begging to be seen by only those who could appreciate their uniqueness. The drive seemed to take forever until a green sign reading, "Coral City" was now fast approaching.

Rocky's stomach was in knots for some reason, growing more unbearable the closer they got. Maybe it was that he was nervous going to see the conditions Zuma used to live in. Perhaps it was that this might all be for nothing and he would be back at square one. One thing he knew for sure was that just knowing Zuma was hurting, was enough for his own heart to ache also. Rocky loved him with every inch of his being and wanted nothing more than to see Zuma smile with that pure happiness, glistening in his honey eyes that always drove him wild.

Ryder's ATV and the trailer he pulled behind it, hummed and bounced violently as they made their way through the forest up to a narrow, windy trail that had since been covered by fallen saplings and tree limbs since Ryder had last been here. "We're almost there!" He shouted behind him to Rocky who was hanging on tightly as every bump threatened to knock him off the back. The headlights were the only light they had, not even the moonlight could pierce the thick canopy of the oak trees. Suddenly, they stopped. Rocky's heart began to pound and his breathing quicked as he got off the back of the ATV.

"Are you sure this is it?" Asked Rocky, looking around the tall brush and trees with a flashlight from his pup pack.

Ryder got out a flashlight of his own and started searching. Checking his coordinates to make sure he was right. "This is it, I'm sure of it. Keep searching." Both looked around for several minutes, before Ryder tripped on one of the fallen limbs, in a familiar, hollow cave. "Rocky! I found it!"

Rocky ran towards Ryder who was about 50 feet away from him. Hesitantly, he walked inside and a very faint smell of Zuma lingered but it was enough for Rocky to recognize. There wasn't much to look at inside the small, wet, cramped space and after taking it all in, a sharp pain filled his chest as he imagined what Zuma had to go through while he lived here alone. A silver tear escaped his eyes, rolling down his cheek onto the dirt floor. His gaze followed it and something buried in the dirt caught his attention. It was an old, striped beach towel that Zuma once slept on. More tears threatened to break free until a tall, surfboard perched in a back corner was caught his light. "It's still here..." said Rocky no louder than a whisper.

"Wow, I can't believe it," Ryder replied as he petted the top of Rocky's head. "A little overgrown but everything looks just like the night we came here."

"I can't believe this was his home."

"Me either. I'm so thankful for that pup - all of you - every single day. You all came from bad conditions and that only makes me strive harder to give you the best lives I can possibly provide."

Rocky licked Ryder, "We all love you, Ryder."

"Let's get this home, huh? It's a long drive back and it'll be morning soon."

With the board tied down in the trailer, they were homebound. Rocky took one last look behind him, unable to see anything in the pitch black, but maybe it was better that way. With this last piece of his past on his way to him, he felt Zuma could finally find his passion again for the one thing he loved and kept him holding on during his darkest days when all he wanted to do was give up. Only Rocky still felt nervous for some reason. What if this is a bad idea?

To be continued...

_____________________________

So I know I mentioned in The Water Pup that I probably wouldn't be doing anymore Paw Patrol stories, but with some serious pushing from other writers to continue writing, and a sudden bit of inspiration, my writer's block is cured and here I am with Fractured. It won't be a ton of chapters, only two. Anyways, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow:) Love ya!


	2. Every Piece of Me

The world was silent as if it had ended in the night. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon as Rocky struggled to blink his eyes awake from his dreams which tried pulling him back in. His paw stretched outward from where he lay, fumbling lazily around in the darkness for the button to open his pup house door. The earliest pink rays of light spilled in, filling the space and stinging his eyes as the metal door slowly creaked open. He knew it was early by the gentle chirping of birds in the distance and his heart beginning to pound with the thought of Zuma's surprise.

He bowed his back and stretched his legs before stepping out onto the pavement. He let out a heavy yawn that sounded more like a soft howl. The grass in the field had a silvery sheen to it as the sun's ray illuminated the dew-laden blades. The coolness of the morning was deceptive for when the sun reached its place high in the day's sky, it would bring with it the daunting summer heat. "I'm so tired," grumbled Rocky, rubbing his eyes. He wasn't sure what time they had gotten back to the lookout last night after their adventure but he knew it was late. However, he was happy that the rest of the pups were still sleeping so he could plan how he'd reveal his surprise to Zuma.

As he walked slowly over to the oak tree, a small figure he failed to notice was propped up against it. "Good morning, Skye," he said quietly so as not to disturb the calm. "I thought you were still asleep."

"Hey, Rocky," she smiled back. "I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. I figured since I couldn't remember the last time I watched the sunrise that this was my chance." She paused. "You look rough."

"Ryder and I kinda had a long night last night."

"Working on something?" she asked genuinely, squinting at the sun as she looked onward over the cliff.

Rocky rubbed the back of his head, "Something like that. Although now I'm not so sure it's a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Skye asked, turning to see a worried expression on Rocky's face.

"Well Zuma was acting really weird yesterday and he didn't say why and I kinda just left it at that. You know how he gets when you pry too much." They both smiled. "Anyways, I thought maybe he needed something new in his life."

"New? Like what?"

"We all know how much he loves playing in the water and surfing but he doesn't have a surfboard. I went to Ryder and he told me that the day he brought Zuma here, there was one that he left behind all those years ago so late last night, we went to find it."

"Wow, really?" She questioned with intense curiosity. "Did you guys find it?"

Rocky looked at his paws before looking back at Skye, "Yeah, it's here. But -"

"But...now you're worried if that was a good choice, right?"

"What if it makes him mad?"

Skye hesitated for a second as they both watched a flock of small birds fly by overhead until they disappeared into the distance. "If I'm being honest," she paused, "I don't know." Rocky sighed with disappointment and a smile formed on his face as if to laugh sarcastically at his spur of the moment decision. Skye giggled and hugged her best friend. "Look don't beat yourself up over it, Rocky. What you did was an incredibly nice thing to do and anyone should be thankful for someone willing to do that for them. My only thought is that it might make him upset. Like nostalgia gone wrong, ya know?"

"That's kind of what I was thinking."

Before she could say anything, their ears picked up the metal clashing of two more doors opening. A bulldog with an eye mask, stumbled around blindly until a clumsy dally crashed on top of him. The sound of them hitting the pavement and tripping over water bowls was enough to make Rocky and Skye wince as if they felt their pain. Chase rushed out of his pup house - a stunned look on his face. He wasn't so much concerned with the collision as he was with realizing he had overslept. A chocolate lab appeared last with an annoyed expression. Rocky instantly felt a lump form in his throat as his claws dug anxiously into the ground beneath him.

"It's okay, Rocky," Whispered Skye reassuringly as they had been spotted by the others. Chase, Rubble, and Marshall rushed over to them while Zuma made his way into the lookout. "He's probably going to eat, you know how he is."

Rocky got up, "Maybe I should go talk to him."

"Rocky wait!" shouted Skye but it was too late. Rocky had already darted past the others without saying hello and he went inside after Zuma.

* * *

Inside the lookout, Rocky was met by Ryder preparing six bowls of breakfast. One teetered on the edge of the counter before falling and spilling on the floor. As Rocky rushed to help, Zuma came out of nowhere and beat him to it. Out of the corner of Zuma's eye, Rocky caught his attention but he didn't say a word. "Thanks, Zuma," said Ryder, patting him on the head. "Must've woke up on Marshall's side of the bed this morning."

Zuma laughed which eased Rocky's tension. "Hey, Zuma," he said cautiously. After all these years he still knew how to make Rocky anxious.

"Hey," replied Zuma, as if not to be rude by ignoring him which he would've rather done.

Ryder could feel the tension between them rising. "Well, here's your breakfast pups, I'm gonna go see if the others are hungry yet." He carried four bowls down the hall, balancing them as his pace quickened to get out of there as fast as he possibly could.

"D-do you wanna do something today?" Asked Rocky nervously, beating himself up over feeling like he said something wrong.

Zuma looked up from his food bowl, "Not really."

"Are we gonna talk about this or just go around acting like the other doesn't exist?" Snapped Rocky unsuspectingly.

Caught off guard, Zuma wiped his mouth with his paw while staring coldly into Rocky's eyes. The soft expressions of his that Rocky knew had faded into this cold and empty stare. His golden eyes held Rocky's gaze but instead of warmth, all he felt was hostility. He tried cracking a joke as if it were some kind of staring contest but Zuma just scoffed. After a few seconds, Zuma took another bite and turned his head to stare out the window. He took an unnatural step away from his food so that he could walk out and pass Rocky without having to meet his gaze again. "I'm just in a mood and wanna be left alone." He finally answered with a robotic tone.

Rocky realized at that point it was probably best to let him go but his mouth was too fast. "Wait!" He shouted. Zuma sighed, stopping but refusing to turn around. "I have something for you."

Zuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath before hesitantly turning towards Rocky. His head titled back and to the side a little as if it had annoyed him to do so. "Rocky --"

"Zuma stop," replied Rocky angrily, as he walked closer towards him. "Why are you shutting me out?"

"I thought you said you had something for me," challenged Zuma quickly.

Rocky rolled his eyes, "I do. Come on."

Rocky walked past Zuma and Zuma trailed behind him following him to his pup house.

"I've seen everything in there."

"You have, yes, but you haven't seen_ this_ in a long time."

"It's too early for your riddles, Rocky."

"Close your eyes," Rocky whispered softly in his ear. Zuma's soft fur ignited his white paws and a faint smile formed at the corners of his mouth at just the feel of him again. "Ta-daaaa!"

Zuma stared at the blue and orange board propped against the wall by Rocky's bed. His brain stuttered for a second as his eyes took in the unexpected. Every part of him paused as his thoughts tried to catch up and his lungs remembered how to breathe. Rocky didn't realize he began trembling from nerves as he waited for what seemed an eternity for words to spill from Zuma's lips. The room was silent except for a small ticking somewhere under the pile of mess. The ticking was maddening like it was counting down the moments until a bomb would explode before him at any minute. _Just say something...anything._

Zuma's mouth dropped as if he were finally going to speak yet still no words came out. His eyes grew sad and the muscles of his chin began to tremble. Static filled his head as fear, anger, guilt, pain, all surfaced at the sight of something he never thought he'd see anything. He wasn't sure if he wanted to cry, scream, or thank Rocky. His eyes dripped with tears that were too strong to be held back no matter how hard he tried. Moment by moment they continued to fall as he stood there in silence. He took a few slow steps forward until his nose was mere centimeters from touching it.

A shaky sigh broke through the tears as he lifted his paw to touch it, yet as hard as he tried, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He turned to Rocky who looked like he was going to faint from nerves. "W-why?"

"Do you like it?" Rocky asked with uncertainty.

"Why did you bring this here?" asked Zuma, wiping the last tears from his eyes.

Rocky wasn't sure of Zuma's reaction or if he should even answer that question but he had no choice. "Ryder and I thought you might like to have it."

"Well, you both were wrong."

"What's wrong Zuma? Why can't you just talk to me?" asked Rocky, almost demanding an answer as he stopped Zuma from walking out.

"What do you want me to say?" he argued back.

"I don't know but you can start by telling me what's wrong?"

"I don't feel like doing this right now Rocky!"

"If you can't even talk to me then why are you with me still?"

"Rocky don't be like --" Zuma replied, rolling his eyes.

"Tell me."

Rocky wasn't giving up and Zuma sighed with defeat. "I'm just...I don't know I feel lost."

"Lost? How?"

"Empty." The sound of that one word caused a sharp pain in Rocky's chest and he felt as if he were failing to give him something good in this world.

The sound of that one word caused a sharp pain in Rocky's chest and he felt as if he were failing to give him something good in this world. "You really feel that way, Zuma?" he mumbled, trying to hold back his own tears now.

"I have everything I could ever want yet there's still a void that can't be filled," said Zuma. The look his eyes held was pitiful. Lost.

"What kind of void?"

"I'm tired of walking around, pretending that everything is always okay and that it always will be. Everyone walks around hiding their feelings like we need to be afraid to feel anything. That we need to hide our guilt or sadness or this _empty _emotion some of us feel. That it makes us weak. But for me?" he said, moving closer while a new strength filled his words. "I've never been good at hiding it. This is a reality, Rocky. No one ever asks why I'm smiling but as soon as any bit of real emotion shows on my face people suddenly _care._ I'm scared of how I still feel sometimes or what I think about but you know what? I need it. I need to know and remember that it was all real. It's all I have left."

Zuma let out a deep breath and slowly lowered his head, "Sometimes I feel safer when I'm sad because that's something real that I can always count on. But, I don't need a physical reminder of something I gave up when my world moved on." Zuma pushed the surfboard away and it slowly slipped off the wall before crashing to the floor. By the shattering sound that came from underneath, he knew had broken something. "Rocky..." he said with guilt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to -- "

Rocky looked at Zuma with a flatness before looking at the pile where it landed. "You should be." He grabbed the board with his teeth, dragging it outside, almost hitting Zuma, before transforming his eco-house into his truck. Rocky sped off down the driveway.

"Way to go Zuma..." he said out loud to himself as guilt set in. He transformed his own house and followed after him. He could feel the intense heat from the sun as the warmth radiated from the asphalt. Rocky stopped unsuspectingly at the beach and Zuma pulled up beside him. Before he had a chance to say anything, Rocky broke the silence. "Zuma, you're the strongest pup I know. You're stronger than any human I've ever met. I may not be able to feel things the way you do or know all the right words to say but you need to look back at your life more often."

"I do...All the time."

"No, you don't. At least not the bigger picture. You can feel whatever you need to feel but when you get that way you need to ask yourself if you actually have a bad, empty life or are you just having a bad five minutes? Have your moment and pick yourself back up. I can imagine its hard living with your thoughts at times but _you_ are the one who allows yourself to linger on them. You gave up surfing...for what?"

"Cause I --"

"Because it reminds you of all the good times you had with someone important you lost on this day years ago? Because you look back and imagine it in a cave that you spent lonely years in by yourself? Think about it Zuma...on those days alone, you drug that board off that mountain to the beach. You had this stupid, water-loving, death-trap you call a surfboard to give you some glimmer of hope on your worst days. You're going to give something up that's always been there for you because it triggers a memory? A memory of times that you still managed to feel something on your darkest days? It should be a reminder of your strength."

"I'm not doing it," Shrugged Zuma with a childish attitude.

"Fine," replied Rocky sternly.

"Fine."

Rocky paused for a minute. He took one look at the ocean and then at Zuma who wouldn't look back at him. "Then I will."

"Yeah, okay...." scoffed Zuma. He turned to see Rocky's reaction when he realized he was too late. He looked over his shoulder and found Rocky dragging it through the sand down to the ocean. "Where are you going with that?" Hollered Zuma.

Rocky yelled back through a sarcastic smile, "I'm going surfing,"

"You can't be serious? You hate water!"

"I didn't lose sleep to bring this damn thing all this way for it to get lost with the rest of my junk. If you won't use it, I will. I'll get one good ride then turn it into a table or something."

"I'm not coming in there after you when you fall off." Rocky ignored his words and Zuma couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes. "Rocky, stop!"

_I can do this..._thought Rocky though his fear was crippling him. He winced as that first drop of water melting into his fur. _Ewww_...._this better work._

The rhythm of the waves became a marker for Rocky's timing. A bigger one would roll underneath him and two or three little ones would soon follow after. The shaking wasn't from the ocean, it was his entire body protesting his stupidity. "I can do this..." he said with false confidence, cringing with disgust at the feeling of water all over him. A promising wave moved closer and he paddled as hard as he could. He had no idea what he was doing. As he almost had all four paws on the board, the wave knocked him off and took him under.

"Rocky!"

Rocky swam to the surface as hard as he could and gasped for air. He searched eagerly for the board for safety from the salty sea which was burning his eyes. With his back turned, a smaller wave crashed on top of him sending him under again. This time as he swam with all his strength, something pulled at his collar helping him out of the water and onto the board. Rocky shook the water off as if it were like a thousand needles stinging him all over his body. "Wet! Wet! Wet!"

"Well the ocean isn't exactly dry, ya know..." Replied Zuma as the two sat in front of one another, rising and falling slowly as the waves rolled past them. "That was dumb, Rocky."

"Was it?" he smiled. "Cause the way I see it, my plan worked. Here you are. On your rejected surfboard, floating in the ocean and the only way back is for you to get us there because I sure as hell won't be getting us far."

Zuma turned around and the board rocked wildly like it was done on purpose. Rocky fell to his stomach holding the sides for dear life. A faint howling came from behind. As he turned to look over his shoulder, he was met with a huge wave barreling closer. Zuma paddled and caught the wave just right. The warm, summer wind swept through his fur reaching his skin, giving him goosebumps. Mist from the air landed on his face and the smell of brine filled his nose. He closed his eyes. Felt the movement of his board against the waves as if it were a part of him. He didn't need to see for he could feel it and knew his moves like a well-rehearsed dance. Rocky screaming in fear behind him was a mere faint, buzzing sound.

The wave carried them all they back to land and they crashed into the shoreline, falling over one another. Zuma finally stood over Rocky whose back was in the sand. Zuma's eyes grew wide and the warmth that Rocky always knew in their golden hue was returning. He was so hypnotized by them and happy to see their light that he failed to notice the beaming smile that formed on Zuma's face before a roar of laughter escaped from him. It was a laugh that stole all the air from his lungs. He fell backward, holding his belly as he let it all out. It was a sound Rocky felt he hadn't heard in months and a sound that he would wait a thousand years to hear again.

Rocky couldn't help but join in. It was contagious. It was genuine. Rocky moved over him and as he leaned in closer, their breath mingled together before he gave him a soft kiss. "I love you," Rocky said pulling away, short and sweet.  
  
"Thank you," Whispered Zuma before their lips met again. Rocky couldn't form any words to say back but their lips on each other knew all the right words to say and at that moment, the pounding in Zuma's heart reminded him of all the love he ever needed was right in front of him.

_The End._

* * *

_Thank you sooooo much for reading!!! I know this was is MUCH shorter than the others but it was meant to be :) I'll update Chasing A Dream soon, I promise. I'm working on it I just want to finish more chapters so I can upload regularly! _


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